The following contains major spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok. Do not continue until you've seen it.
While Thor: Ragnarok isn't the final chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to Avengers: Infinity War, it is the last one that we expect will have major roles by any of the actual Avengers. Fans expected that we'd get some setup for the big crossover event, and while some was certainly hinted at, the film ended by giving us more new questions than answers.
Where exactly will everybody end up when Avengers: Infinity War starts? We don't really know much at this point. Here's a rundown of all the questions we find ourselves asking following the events of Thor: Ragnarok.
Where is Lady Sif?
When Hela arrives on Asgard she pretty much lays waste to the entire place. What appear to be hundreds if not thousands of people, including the Warriors Three, end up dead. However, the fate of one character is left ambiguous. Lady Sif is completely MIA. The reason that Sif didn't appear in the film may have had more to do with the actress' schedule than anything else, but the fact that Sif's fate isn't clear means it's possible that she's actually still alive. We don't know for certain that she was even on Asgard when all this went down. Did she die off screen, or did Jamie Alexander's schedule leave her alive to fight in the future?
Is Banner Stuck as Hulk?
When Bruce Banner finally regains control of his big green buddy we learn that not only has Hulk been in control for two years, Banner wasn't even aware of it. Mark Ruffalo's character says at one point that he's afraid that if he makes the change again, he might not ever be able to come back. Then, he goes on and makes the change. The specific question of who's in control at the end of the film is never addressed, but we see that even in the closing moments of Thor: Ragnarok, Banner is still in Hulk form. So it's possible, even likely, that he can't change back-- at least at this moment. How will this impact the events of Avengers: Infinity War if only half of the Incredible Hulk is around?
How Will Earth React, If/When the Asgardians Arrive?
Based on what happens in the post-credits sequence of Thor: Ragnarok, it's not a foregone conclusion that the remaining people of Asgard will ever make it to Earth. Having said that, the ship contains a massive number of alien refugees. Is that the sort of thing that the people of Earth are just going to be ok with? While we don't really know how much of the events of Avengers: Infinity War are going to take place on Earth, it's possible that if the Mad Titan arrives from space looking for Infinity Stones, the people of Earth are going to start having serious problems with all alien life... which could be bad news for the Asgardians.
Did Matt Damon's Character Survive?
And while we're on the subject of the surviving Asgardians, is Matt Damon on board Thor's ship? One of the best moments in Thor: Ragnarok comes early in the film where we see an Asgardian stage play telling a fictionalized version of the "death" of Loki. And the actor playing the role is a perfectly cast Matt Damon. We never see him again, so it's unclear if the master Asgardian thespian died during Hela's onslaught or if he made it on board the escape vessel. We'd really like to know because the stage version of Ragnarok is probably going to be awesome.
Did Loki Take The Tesseract?
One key item in Thor: Ragnarok that will absolutely be important in the forthcoming Avengers: Infinity War is the fate of the Infinity Stone known as the Tesseract. Following the events of the first Avengers movie we learn it's going to be looked after on Asgard, and the item appears twice during the events of this film, including by Loki just before he's about to set actual Ragnarok in motion. It's barely possible that Loki ignored it and the stone is now floating in space among the debris of what was once Asgard. It's far more likely that Loki is now in possession of it, but that fact is never made entirely clear.
Seriously, Where Is the Last Infinity Stone?
Since Thor went looking for Infinity Stones following the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, we sort of figured that they would play a somewhat larger role in the new movie. Since the one stone that has yet to be seen on screen is the Soul Stone, and the villain of the new film was the goddess of death, it made sense that those two things might be related. And yet, we didn't get so much as a hint of what's up with this final McGuffin. It's unlikely to show up during Black Panther, but if it doesn't then we'll be completely in the dark about it until the big crossover gets underway.
Is Hela Actually Dead?
We're told that Hela takes her power from Asgard and with its destruction, we're meant to infer hers as well. However, the classic genre fiction rule is, if there's no body, don't assume death-- and we never see Hela dead. Cate Blanchett has yet to be confirmed to appear in Avengers: Infinity War, but some have surmised that the goddess of death will take the role of Lady Death from the comics, as the object of Thanos' affection. Thor: Ragnarok certainly doesn't confirm this, but it doesn't discount the possibility either.
Whose Ship Is That?
We have an entire feature dedicated to the question of the film's end credit sequence, but it would be silly to not include it on a list of overall questions regarding Thor: Ragnarok. The easy guess is that Thor and his people have been taken by Thanos, though that's far from clear. It's certainly possible that the ship could belong to somebody else, even somebody friendly. With an expectation that the MCU is going to be focusing more on its cosmic heroes, this could also be an introduction of somebody entirely new. The good news is that Thor's fate will certainly be dealt with in Avengers: Infinity War, so we can be sure that we'll get a definitive answer to this question in the next big team-up movie.
